Fast PC Startup: The Checklist

November 2011
by Robin Wark

Don't waste time waiting for your computer to start. These tips can help reduce your PC's startup times.

Does it take your computer a long time to startup? When you have something to do on your PC, it can be agonizing to wait for it to startup.

There are some ways you can cut down on this waiting time. Check out the tips and hints below:

  1. Reduce startup items: The programs and processes that launch when you turn on your computer are known a startup items. It is useful to have some programs, such as your anti-virus solution, ready to go when you start up your PC. However, if you have too many programs launching at startup it can slow things down to a crawl.

    By pruning the startup items list, you can boost the speed of with which your computer boots up. There are various ways you can stop programs from launching at startup. One of the easiest is to disable them with the help of a program. A startup manager is included in various ParetoLogic products, including ParetoLogic PC Health Advisor.
  2. Disable devices: Unneeded devices, such as Bluetooth transmitters or webcams, can slow down startup. You can disable these through the Device Manager. In Windows 7 and Vista, you can simply click on the Start menu and type in "device manager" in the search box. If using Windows XP, you can go to the Start menu, choose Settings and then Control Panel and double-click on the Systems icon. In the System Properties window, you can click on the Hardware tab and then Device Manager. With laptops, turning off unneeded devices can preserve battery power as well as improving startup times.
  3. Increase your RAM: More memory is always a good thing. With various tasks occurring when you turn on your computer, increased RAM can boost startup speeds.
  4. Tweak the BIOS: This is an advanced tip. BIOS is the basic input/output system. It is software built into your PC and is the first code that is run when you turn on your PC. You can access the BIOS through different ways depending on your PC. It usually is accessed by pressing the F10, CRTL+ALT+S, F1, the DEL key or another key or combination during startup.

    5. Once you are in the BIOS, go to the Boot menu. On many BIOS screens, you will find a quick boot option. Enable this if you wish minor tests to be skipped. Look for the Boot Device Priority. Set it so that the first boot device is the hard drive. This will improve startup times. However, if you want to boot from a CD-ROM or a device, you will not want to do this. Once you are finished making changes, save changes and exit.

  5. Eliminate unneeded fonts: Some users report that cutting down on the number of fonts on their PC made it start faster. In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, you can control fonts by clicking on the Start menu, Control Panel, Appearances and Personalization and Fonts. Select the fonts you want to remove (hold down CRTL to pick more than one) and, on the toolbar, click Delete.

    6. If you are using Windows XP, go to the Start menu, pick Control Panel and then Appearance and Themes. From the See Also panel on the left, click on Fonts. Pick the fonts you want to remove and, on the File menu, click Delete.

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